Kashmir crisis: India attacks targets in Pakistan

According to police and eyewitnesses, heavy gunfire broke out between the two countries' armies in Kashmir at least three times, according to Reuters. Pakistani intelligence sources and the Pakistani army reported Indian airstrikes in the towns of Kotli and Muzaffarabad in the Pakistani part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, as well as in the city of Bahwalpur in Punjab province. A Pakistani military spokesman told Pakistani news channel Geo News that the facilities hit by India included two mosques. The Pakistani army said it was responding to the attacks "from the ground and the air."

According to Pakistani sources, several civilians were killed in the attacks. The Pakistani military reported eight dead and 33 injured. The Foreign Ministry did not provide an exact number, but said the victims included women and children. Intelligence sources had previously reported the death of a child in the city of Bahwalpur in eastern Pakistan. Indian media, citing insiders, reported at least a dozen "terrorists" killed and 55 injured.

Pakistan claims to have shot down five Indian aircraft and captured Indian soldiers. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that the downing of the aircraft was not a "hostile act" and that Pakistan was defending its territory. The Indian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to inquiries. Pakistan closed its airspace due to the incidents, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority said. Flight operations at Islamabad and Lahore airports have also been suspended until further notice.

The Indian government stated that its armed forces had launched "Operation Sindoor" with the attacks. "Our actions were targeted, measured, and non-escalatory," it said. "India exercised considerable restraint in the selection of targets and the manner of execution." It added that only "known terrorist camps" were attacked and no Pakistani civilian, economic, or military targets were hit – a claim denied by Pakistan.

Pakistan immediately announced retaliation. A military spokesperson told ARY broadcaster that India had attacked Pakistan with missiles in three locations. Pakistani Defense Minister Asif said in a television interview that the Indian aircraft never entered Pakistani airspace during the attacks, which the military said targeted only civilians. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the Indian attack a cowardly act and an "act of war" and vowed retaliation. "Pakistan now has the full right to respond appropriately to the conflict imposed on us," Sharif said in a statement. "We will not allow the enemy to achieve its objectives."

India later announced that at least three civilians had been killed by Pakistani shelling in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. The Pakistani army fired indiscriminately across the Line of Control, media reported, citing the military. The Indian army will respond appropriately to the shelling. The Line of Control is considered the de facto border between the two nuclear-armed countries.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his "deep concern." "The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan," he said, according to a statement from his office. He called on both nuclear-armed states to exercise military restraint. A military solution is not a solution, Guterres emphasized. He was "deeply concerned."

US President Donald Trump called the situation "a disgrace." The US had tried to calm tensions, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed both sides last week. "They've been arguing for a long time," Trump said. "I just hope it's over very quickly."

Tensions have escalated since the attack in Indian Kashmir

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed powers hadrisen sharply since an attack in Indian Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 tourists. India accused its neighbor of involvement in the attack, a charge Islamabad denies. At the end of April, Pakistan finally said it had "credible intelligence that an Indian military strike was imminent."

Since the attack, both countries have imposed punitive measures on each other, including expelling citizens from each other and reducing diplomatic relations. Experts consider India's decision to suspend the so-called Indus Water Treaty with its neighbor, which regulates the use of water from the Indus River and its tributaries, particularly serious.

The Kashmir region in the Himalayas is divided between Pakistan and India, but both claim the entire territory for themselves. The origins of the conflict date back to the colonial era. In 1947, the British granted the Indian subcontinent independence and divided it. The partition resulted in the new Muslim state of Pakistan, alongside predominantly Hindu India. The violent partition continues to fuel a bitter rivalry to this day. Since gaining independence, the two countries have fought three wars against each other, two of them over Kashmir.

Delhi has been frustrated for decades by what it sees as the Pakistani military's support for terrorist groups operating within its territory. In recent days, there have been further skirmishes in the border areas, and both countries have taken steps to demonstrate their readiness. Pakistan conducted surface-to-surface missile tests this week, underscoring its military strength, and India ordered emergency drills in several states to prepare the population and government agencies in the face of the tense situation.